KTRH GardenLine Newsletter

July 19, 2007 - Issue #26

Here's Randy's Weekly KTRH GardenLine Tip:

Plants that Like Wet Feet!



You know the old saying, "If You Can't Beat 'Em; Join 'Em," right? After hearing an interesting statistic on one of the local television weather forecasts, that's probably a good plan of action. The statistics show that in the month of June there was something like 20 out of 30 days of wet weather, and so far in the month of July at least 12 out of 18 days have been wet as well!

It kind of begs the question "are there any plants that work well in constantly wet conditions?" The answer is yes, but the irony is that when you plant new "wet-feet-loving" plants you can't just automatically plant them in wet conditions. Once they become established, is when they can survive persistently wet conditions.

With that said, when things dry up a bit (it's not a matter of if, it's only a matter of when) it might be a good idea to plant some of these specimens listed below that can thrive and survive in conditions that are the quagmire that we have enjoyed this summer.

Now, most of these plants are not there to "sop up" the excess moisture, and again, it's important to note that planting new specimens in excessively wet conditions is a death sentence. So, again, wait for things to dry up a bit and then these plants listed below (depending on your space) could be the answer. This is not a long list, but it is a list that works for this area. You can research many sites on the internet for plants that "like wet feet" and there will be hundreds of specimens, but most of them don't do well here in the first place, wet feet or not.

  • Bald Cypress
  • River Birch
  • Water Tupelo
  • Swamp White Oak
  • Texas Wax Myrtle
  • Moonglow Viburnum
  • Louisiana Iris
  • Umbrella Plant (Papyrus)
  • Astilbe
  • Canna Lilies
  • Creeping Jenny (The only groundcover, since most don't tolerate wet conditions)

    One more note on the subject: If you know of a water garden nursery such as Nelson Water Garden & Nursery in Katy, then almost anything they consider a "bog" plant, can also be used in excessively wet areas too. Just make sure that the bog plant is for this growing region.

    Until next issue, here's to Great Gardening from the GardenLine, heard exclusively, 6-10 a.m. Saturdays and 7-10 a.m. Sundays, only on NewsRadio 740 KTRH.



    Be sure to check out Randy's Event Page to see where else Randy will be for the next few weekends. Bring your plants, bugs, and diseases for identification purpose.



    GardenLine Listeners and E-mail Tip Subscribers can purchase a copy of my new book at discounted price! Check it out! "Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon"
    Garden retailers interested in stocking the book, should call the Nitro Phos Warehouse at 713-228-1868 for wholesale ordering information.



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